


Caged Bird

by Pebblesong7



Series: Bad things happen bingo [7]
Category: Chicago PD (TV)
Genre: Abduction, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Blood and Injury, Broken Bones, Cages, Infection, Jay Halstead Whump, Locked In, Minor Injuries, Minor Violence, Non-Consensual Bondage, barbed wire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-15
Updated: 2021-03-15
Packaged: 2021-03-24 06:26:51
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30068037
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pebblesong7/pseuds/Pebblesong7
Summary: Jay get's abducted... again.
Series: Bad things happen bingo [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2184204
Kudos: 31





	Caged Bird

**Author's Note:**

> Jay gets taken hostage again. He tries to escape and fails, making things much worse for him. Attaboy Jay.

When Jay jerked awake in yet another dungeon/basement, he decided that at some point he was going to swear off being involved in anything where he could get abducted. 

He let out a moan of discomfort at his cramped limbs, head throbbing slightly as he tried to remember what had happened. He knew that he would have been on a case with his team, and that was it. 

He tried to raise his hands to check his head for any blood or bumps, but he realised he couldn’t move them. His shoulders had been pulled back behind him, tight rope binding his wrists together behind his back. Further movement confirmed that his ankles were tied in a similar fashion. Fantastic. 

He started to make mental notes about his surroundings. The room itself was pretty small, it couldn’t be more than seven foot wide each way, and a sickly yellow light lit the room, coming from an irritatingly buzzing lightbulb dangling from the ceiling. The floor was simple stone, mirroring the cold concrete walls. Whoever came up with the interior design for this room should get a medal. 

More pressingly, Jay realised that he was in some kind of cage. Rolling his shoulders slightly, he could see the thick wire mesh ceiling only a couple feet above him, Jay figured he could probably sit upright but standing was out of the equation. Stretching out his legs he could unfurl himself a little before he hit the end. 

Through some careful and well planned wriggling Jay was able to draw his stiff legs up enough to get his bound wrists underneath his feet. Now that his hands were in front of him his shoulders ached with relief. 

Stiffly he was able to sit upright, light catching on the flecks of blood around the ropes on his wrists. Listening carefully, Jay realised that he couldn’t hear anything or anyone. He called out hesitantly, but nobody responded. Grand, he didn’t want to know why he was here anyway. 

He tried to pull his arms apart, but the rope held tight, biting into his wrists. It was tightly knotted, far too well done for him to be able to slip out, so he would have to disregard that route for now. His legs were bound at the ankle with the same rope, and an experimental tug proved useless. 

Instead, he focused his attention on the cage itself. The wire was strong, and Jay soon realised that he would not be able to simply kick his way out. He didn’t have the space to get enough momentum, and the layered mesh made loud rustling noises when he tried to shake it. 

After a period of searching, Jay finally landed upon the door. It was similar to that of a dog crate, and Jay couldn’t help but wonder how they managed to fit him though it. He wasn’t a small guy, they must have really been trying. The mental image gave him some satisfaction. 

The dim light was just enough to let him get a good look at the latch. It was held shut with a lock, with a handle that could be accessed from the outside. The metal itself was ragged and pointy, and Jay wondered if it was like that by design. 

He tried to cut the ropes with some of the sharper edges but they were all aimed outward. Jay realised that the cage would let you get your fingers out, but they would be badly sliced coming back in. It was deviously clever. 

With nothing else to do, Jay cautiously pushed his hands into the gaps between the wires. He could fit roughly two fingers through. He managed to tap the lock a few times, but he didn’t have enough room to properly grab it. He hissed as he pulled his hands back, his index catching on one of the cables. Thankfully it was only a drop or two of blood. 

He started to test each of the wires individually, until finally he found one that moved slightly. Jay followed it until he came across a raised bump. It was darker on this side of the cage, so he had to use touch to manoeuvre his nail underneath the loose cable. 

Jay tugged it back a little bit, letting out a yelp when it snapped back into place, ripping his nail in the process. He ran his tongue over the injury and could feel where his nail had been torn partially away from the skin, leaving the bitter taste of blood. 

After the pain subsided, he tried again, this time able to get his finger underneath it properly. With as much strength as he could get in the small space he was able to pull it backward a little further. 

When it snapped back again, it tore at the tender skin on Jay’s wrist, and he bit his tongue to avoid yelping again. He gasped out a hiss as he pulled his wrist to his chest. Feeling dampness, he realised he was bleeding. 

A quick venture back into the light proved this to be true, a long scratch along the length of his arm, from the start of his palm to a quarter way up his arm. It was bleeding quite a bit, but it was sluggish. Jay applied pressure with the corner of his shirt, and was relieved to see that the bleeding slowed quite quickly. 

Jay was slightly embarrassed by how long it took for him to click onto using his shirt to pull the wire. 

After worrying the wire for a few minutes, it eventually snapped. Jay felt around the darkness for a few minutes, worried he had lost it before he felt the thin metal. 

It took a while, but he was eventually able to cut through the bindings. Jay stretched as much as he could, bones clicking into place with satisfying cracks. To his relief, the wire was long enough for him to pull the lock closer. 

It was fiddly business, but Jay was grateful he learned how to pick locks as a kid. He got several more scratches along his fingers and palms as he finally unlocked the door. After a bit more tugging, he was able to jimmy the latch. With a creak, the door swung open. 

Jay crawled out of the cage, and rose to his feet. He would never complain about standing up again. Now that he was free he could get a better look at the door to the room. It had no windows and seemed to be soundproof, so he couldn’t tell whether there was anyone waiting outside. He supposed he would just have to hope for the best. 

The door itself was wooden, with only a door handle on Jay’s side. When he tried the handle, the door was locked. ‘Must be locked on the other side’, Jay thought. 

The man tried the handle one last time before admitting defeat. He moved to look at the door hinges themselves. They were bolted to the wall with nails. Jay looked around the room but he couldn’t see anything to use as a way to yank them out, but he gripped the broken wire tightly as he dug around the rusting hinge. 

Jay didn’t know how long he was there for, but at last the top hinge began to move. He forced his fingertips, ignoring the pain of his injuries and the new rivets being dug into his skin by the metal. When it finally broke, he moved onto the next one. 

At last, Jay was able to pull at the handle and the door fell backward. He caught it with his body to reduce the sound, and when he listened again there was still silence. 

Ahead of him was a narrow staircase leading to another door. To his relief it wasn’t locked. Cable still in hand, he peeked around the corners. It seemed to be a house, streams of moonlight filtering through the shattered windows. Jay creeped forward as silently as he could, testing each wooden plank before he put his weight on it. 

His heart jumped when he realised he could see a door to the outside. In his moment of excitement he accidentally stepped on a weak plank, which gave way under his left foot. He shouted before he could stop himself as the wooden spikes slashed through his jeans and into his leg. His ankle made a cracking noise as it hit the floor at a bad angle. 

Tears pricked at his eyes as he tried to control his breathing. The house was still silent. Slowly, he pulled his leg out of the hole, stomach curling at the sight of blood. From where he was, he couldn’t tell whether he had broken his leg, but it gave way when he tried to take another step. Jay only just caught himself before he hit the floor. 

He picked himself up, and when he looked up there was a person. 

Adrenaline kicked in as the person grabbed at him, and he punched the torso as hard as he could. The man cried out in pain, before he threw Jay to the ground. When his leg hit the ground he nearly passed out, giving the man enough time to ensnare his neck with huge hands. 

Jay struggled underneath the larger man, kicking out with his good leg and clawing at the hands around his throat. The pressure lifted and a fist caught him in the face. Disoriented, he was vaguely aware of blood seeping from his cut lip. 

A firm pair of hands pushed him onto his front, and the man started to have a conversation. He couldn’t quite catch the words, busy gasping for air underneath the pressure on his back. His arms were pinned again, and he felt something cold being tugged around them. The pain was sharper this time, digging into his wrists in points. When his captor yanked it the sharp barbs dug into his skin and he gasped. 

They would use barbed wire this time wouldn’t they. Whoever was there with them yanked him up by his hair as the other wrapped the wire around his torso, trapping his wrists to his body. He tried to fight back but the barbs were agonising, breaking his skin more with every movement. He tried to call for help but a cloth was shoved into his mouth, covering his nose. 

Jay fought for a few moments longer before his limbs began to feel heavy and his vision started to fade. The cloth smelt weird but he couldn’t hold his breath whilst he was moving. Whatever they were drugging him with wore down on his energy reserves until he couldn’t fight anymore. He tried to stand up again but the darkness overtook him.

\--- --- --- --- ---

Jay gasped as he woke again, lungs prickling and torso wracked with pain. Familiar stone walls met his eye again and he let out a low string of curses. His voice was raspier than normal, he equated it to his still strained throat. 

The sharp pain of the barbed wire had spread, and he was grateful to have been unconscious when he was shoved back into the cage. Spots of blood marred his shirt, the wire wrapped several times around his torso and legs, digging into the back of his knees. He could feel some of them pricking his skin as he lay, but he worried moving might make it worse. It looped around his neck tightly, but not enough to stop his breathing. 

Eventually he bit the bullet and tried to heave himself upright, but exhaustion caught up to him and he let out a cry as he landed awkwardly. His leg was throbbing, and when he looked down he saw that his right leg was attached to the cage wall with barbed wire. 

Despair welled in his throat, but he swallowed it down. He knew more now. 

Jay considered all the facts he knew. There were at least two people keeping him here, they needed him alive, albeit scathed, and he was in a broken down house. He tried to remember what he had been doing before he came here but he drew a blank. 

He tried to recall what he could last remember. He was on his way to work after dropping Will off, they were working on a case, he had been in the car… that was it. It was night when he got upstairs, so he must have been gone for a day or so. Surely someone must have noticed?

His leg throbbing again distracted him, and he tried to move a little to reduce the pain but only succeeded in making it worse. Every flex of his muscles, voluntary or not, sent waves of pain across his body. The smell of blood was stronger than it had been before. 

Jay did his best to monitor the wounds he had. Most of them seemed pretty superficial but there were a lot of them, so blood loss and infection needed to be considered. His throat and neck felt sore and swollen so he must have at least some light bruising. His lip had stopped bleeding but when he ran his tongue over it it stang. His leg was at least fractured, he knew the feeling well enough by now. 

In several areas across his body he could feel aches and pains, he assumed that was likely due to being forcefully shoved like he was. His fingers twinged from numerous cuts, especially on the one with the broken nail. All in all, he was in a considerable amount of pain. 

Unwilling to try moving again, lest he make it worse, he decided to lay there for a while longer. His head was starting to hurt, and he wasn’t sure whether it was from the drugs or the thirst. 

He might have fallen into an uneasy sleep for a few moments before a figure appeared at the bottom of the steps. Jay couldn’t help feeling a little proud that he had destroyed the door. He couldn’t see who it was, but he didn’t think they were good based on how they were standing there in a very villainy way. 

The man was silent as he came over to the cage, and Jay found himself trying to push himself back, away from the threat. The man let out a chuckle as he watched this, seeming to thrive on Jay’s pain and fear. He lifted something up and Jay heard a click, and then the man was gone. As he left, he switched off the light and the basement was plunged into darkness. 

Jay had always hated the darkness. Darkness was dangerous, you can't see what's coming at you, whether you are alone or not. He felt comforted that he would know if someone came in. He tried to quiet his breathing. 

The silence continued as it always did. Jay was vaguely aware of the room feeling colder. He was starting to feel like shit truthfully, and he realised that he might have a fever. Shit, he probably had an infection somewhere. All of the wounds were too open and sharp for him to tell which one was causing it by feeling alone. 

The darkness was cloying and endless, his eyes couldn’t adjust. Jay didn’t think he had ever felt so hopeless in his life, and he considered yelling until someone had to come and help him, but he doubted he could even get the words out right now. 

He started to reestablish what he knew, they might not need him alive after all. Hold on they took a picture of him, or at least Jay thought they did. It might be a hostage situation. 

The crappy feeling became stronger, and Jay closed his eyes, praying for the pain to end. 

\--- --- --- --- ---

This time, Jay was jerked awake by the sound of gunshots. He was still in pitch darkness, and he decided to blame the shaking on the infection. Several more gunshots broke the silence, and the thundering of footsteps above his head were trailing around the entire house. 

Finally, the door at the top of the stairs was opened, allowing a trickle of natural light into the room. Jay flinched away as much as he could, wary of any new stimulus. 

“Jay? Are you down here?” The man in question’s heart skipped a beat. That was Will! What was he doing here? Doesn’t matter, he was here. Jay tried to say that he was but couldn’t make any noise at all through his rough throat. He opted for jerking ever so slightly to make a noise. Footsteps thudded down the stairs. 

Jay’s eyes were overwhelmed by yellow light, and he blinked as they adjusted. When he could focus again, he saw Will. His brother looked horrified, but Jay was so relieved he didn’t care.

“Down here! I need a medic now!” 

The ginger man rushed over to the cage and he fiddled with the lock but couldn’t get it open. Will started murmuring comforting words to Jay. A few more figures reached the bottom of the stairs. When they got closer Jay could see that one of them was a paramedic, and the other was Kim. Jay didn’t think he had ever been so happy to see Burgess in his life. 

The paramedic, Sylvie Brett, his brain supplied, called upstairs, and Kim was rushed out of the tiny room to make space for the fire department. There wasn’t enough space for too many people, and Jay was slightly relieved, it was already claustrophobic in here. 

Casey was saying something to him as he cut open the door, dismantling the cage as he did so, but Jay couldn’t make himself focus on the words. His lips were dry, and cracked when he tried to speak again but he still couldn’t make words. Will hushed him.

As soon as the cage was broken, Will started looking over him with those doctor eyes of his. Casey began to cut away some of the barbed wire that wasn’t digging in too much, and Jay stayed as still as he could under the circumstances. He wanted to move more than anything but he barely had the energy. 

Under Will’s guidance, they were able to slowly unwrap the barbed wire from around Jay’s shivering frame. When he was offered water they had to forcefully stop him from choking it all down at once. Afterwards, he was relieved to find that he could speak again, despite mild raspiness. 

“You took your time.” Will huffed.  
“We come all the way here to save you and you aren't even grateful.”  
“That’s a good point, why are you here? You're a doctor.”  
“You were hurt, we thought you might need one.”

After a few moment’s Jay was eased to his feet, assuring everyone that he would walk for miles to get out of this hellhole… or hop he supposed. The stairs were too narrow for a body board, so he used every bit of strength he had to force himself up the steps, leaning heavily on his brother. 

When they got to the top, despite his usual hatred for help, he was glad to sink into the wheelchair that was offered to him. The whole team seemed to be there, and Jay didn’t even know where to start, relieved when Will ushered them all away. 

As they clambered into the ambulance, Will pushed Jay to lie down on the bed. The fresh air and movement made him feel so much better, but then a wave of illness reminded him of his situation. Will started using anything he could reach to assess Jay. 

“Will,” he rasped, and his brother landed on him with eyes sparked with anxiety, “stop being a backseat doctor.” Will gave him a playful glare.   
“You knew what, next time I'm going to leave you when you get kidnapped.”  
“You can try… wait next time?”


End file.
